1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a decorative display, and, more particularly, to such a decorative display for arranging and displaying real or artificial flowers as well as real or artificial fruit and vegetables and other decorative elements, such as candles, ribbons, Christmas ball ornaments, pine cones, or any other item that may be attached by means of a pin, corkscrew, cuplet or skewer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art fails to specifically address either the problem or the solution arrived upon by applicant.
Artificial topiary forms have long been known and used for decorating and arranging flowers. Many of these topiary forms include projections for the attachment of the floral elements. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,630,811, which issued to Radus on Dec. 28, 1971 for Artificial Topiary Construction, discloses an artificial topiary construction having a base of penetrable material with a plurality of floral engaging elements and artificial floral elements selectively engageable thereupon. Furthermore, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,819,458, which issued to Kinderman et al. on Jun. 25, 1974 for Foldable Decorative Structure With Reinforcing Members, is disclosed a foldable decorative assembly with which real or simulated foliage may be mechanically joined. In addition, the design of such topiary forms may also be protected, as is evidenced by U.S. Design Pat. No. 126,210, which issued to A. Muhl on Apr. 1, 1941 for a Flower Holder consisting of a disc-shaped flower holder having a plurality of outwardly extending spikes.
Similarly, many topiary forms include a plurality of openings within which individual flower stems may be inserted so as to create a flower arrangement. For example, both U.S. Pat. No. 1,196,312, which issued to W. R. Struck on Aug. 29, 1916 for a Flower Holder, and U.S. Pat. No. 1,962,110, which issued to J. W. Ash on Aug. 25, 1931 for a Flower Holder, disclose flower holders having a pair of foraminous plates through which the stems of flowers may attached, the former by means of tie wires. Furthermore, U.S. Pat. No. 1,965,565, which issued to N. T. Bartlett on Apr. 3, 1933 for a Flower Holder discloses a flower holder having a pair of horizontal reticulated members for holding the stems of flowers therein. In addition, a flower holder having a hollow dome with a plurality of apertures with rigid trough shaped guides projecting therefrom is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,981,033, which issued to J. E. Cheetwood on Aug. 19, 1957 for a Flower Holder, with the dome covering a deformable porous material for supporting stems of flowers. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,202, which issued to J. E. Wheelock on Oct. 30, 1973 for a Flower Holder comprising a hollow, spheroidal body having a plurality of arched segments having stem-receiving openings. U.S. Pat. No. 3,711,048, which issued to Thalenfeld on Jan. 16, 1973 for a Display Holder for Artificial Flowers and the Like discloses a grid structure for the support of artificial flowers. U.S. Pat. No. 5,375,370, which issued to C. H. Zimmerman on Dec. 27, 1994 for Flower Arrangement Holder, discloses a plate having a plurality of annular arrays of openings to permit reception of individual flower stems. U.S. Pat. No. 5,506,009, which issued to Stolzman, et al. on Apr. 9, 1996 for a Decoration and Method of Making the Same discloses a decorative display unit comprising a base with a plurality of openings through which flexible decorating strips may be interwoven. Even design patents have been granted for such topiary forms, as evidenced by U.S. Design Pat. No. 92,115, which issued to E. Spencer on Feb. 12, 1934, which discloses the ornamental design for a Flower Holder with a plurality of openings for insertion of flower stems.
As will be appreciated, none of these prior patents even address the problem faced by applicant let alone offer the solution proposed herein.